Edge control apparatus for sheet material

ABSTRACT

An edge control apparatus for sheet material whereby the edge of the material is maintained in or close to a given line, comprises a spindle carrying at least two rollers, the spindle being mounted in a pivotal manner so that the axis of rotation of the rollers changes when the spindle is moved about its pivot, the spindle being pre-loaded to a position in which its angle is such that sheet material moving in contact with an inner roller tends to be urged outwardly, so that its edge moves across eventually on to an adjoining outer roller, whereupon a pinion connected to this outer roller begins to be rotated and travels along a rack, thereby swinging the rollers and spindle to another position in which the changed axis of rotation of the rollers now tends to urge the edge of the sheet material inwards again, so that the flow of the sheet material is maintained close to a datum line at the adjoining edges of the said two rollers.

United States Patent Haslehurst I 151 3,692,221 [451 Sept. 19, 1972 1541 EDGE CONTROL APPARATUS FOR SHEET MATERIAL [72] Inventor: Arthur Kinder Haslehurst,

Northworthy, Louvain Rd., Derby, England ,[22] Filed: July 30, 1971 21 Appl. No.2 167,724

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data 3,095,131 6/1963 Robertson et a1. ..226/23 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 70,858 5/1915 Austria ..226/23 Primary Examiner-Allen N. Knowles Attorney-Breitenfeld & Levine 1 1 ABSTRACT An edge control apparatus for sheet material whereby the edge of the material is maintained in or close to a given line, comprises a spindle carrying at least two rollers, the spindle being mounted in a pivotal manner so that the axis of rotation of the rollers changes when the spindle is moved about its pivot, the spindle being pre-loaded to a position in which its angle is such that sheet material moving in contact with an inner roller tends to be urged outwardly, so that its edge moves across eventually on to an adjoining outer roller, whereupon a pinion connected to this outer roller begins to be rotated and travels along a rack, thereby swinging the rollers and spindle to another position in which the changed axis of rotation of the rollers now tends to urge the edge of the sheet material inwards again, so that the flow of the sheet material is maintained close to a datum line at the adjoining edges of the said two rollers.

9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PNENTEDSEP 19 I972 SHEET 1 BF 3 v Inventor: ART/lu/e K. HnsLs ugsr Attorneys PATENTEU EPI I 3,692,221

SHEET 3 OF 3 Inventor;

Ann/we K. HnsLewesT By WW Attorneys EDGE CONTROL APPARATUS FOR SHEET MATERIAL This invention relates to edge control apparatus for sheet material, for example textile piece goods, plastics or metal in sheet form, so that one edge of the material or if desired both edges, can be made to conform with a datum line or lines and be continually lined up with the datum line or lines as the material advances.

Existing apparatus for exercising this control of the edges of sheet materials is of a rather complex nature, employing electronic or other sensing devices; effective control is not easy since in many cases the material itself may vary in width due to variations in tension or other causes and it may also be subject to varying degrees of stretch in the course of its movement.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive mechanical device which can be fitted at one edge or both edges of a length of sheet material being wound or otherwise made to travel over guide bars or equivalent means, to ensure that the edge (or both edgeslof the material is or are maintained in the correct alignment with the appropriate datum line or lines.

According to the present invention at least two adjoining rollers are mounted in a position such that they are subjected to rotation by the material riding over them, the edge of the material being normally close to the adjoining edges of the rollers, or of the two outer rollers if there are more than two, the roller assembly being positioned so that the material is urged outwards until the outer roller begins to be turned by the edge of g the material, which action causes the whole of the assembly to swing so that the material tends to be urged inwards.

More specifically a roller unit is adapted to be mounted in a position such that the edge region of the material will travel over the roller unit, the roller unit comprising at least two rollers of which the outer rides on a track generally parallel with the edge of the material while both rollers are freely rotatable about the same axis, the axis being adjustable and being initially pre-loaded to an angle slightly less than 90 to the line of flow of the material, but the arrangement being such that when the outer roller advances along its track the axis of the rollers changes so that it approaches and eventually goes beyond the 90 position relative to the line of flow.

The effect of this arrangement is that while the axis is in its initial position and the material is riding over the periphery of the inner roller or rollers, the angle of the roller axis tends to cause the roller or rollers to ease the edge of the material outwards until it reaches the outer roller. As the latter begins to be rotated by frictional contact with the material it rolls along its track, and thereby changes the angle of the roller axis, until the action of the rollers causes the material to begin to be eased back inwardly. As soon as the material moves back clear of the outer roller, the pre-loading action becomes effective again and the axis tends to restore itself to its original angle to ease the material outwards once more. Thus the effect is that the edge of the flowing material will always be approximately in line with the division between the outer roller and the inner one next to it, the rollers in the former position tending to ease it outwards and in the latter position to ease it inwards, entirely automatically.

The spindle which forms the axis for the rollers is conveniently mounted at its inner end in a block or bracket which is pivotally mounted on a base member and pre-loaded, conveniently by a spring, to urge the spindle towards the before-mentioned initial position; a stop is desirably provided at each end of the track to limit the movement under the spring action and under the action of the roller travel.

The outer roller preferably has connected to it, by means in the nature of a friction clutch, a pinion which rides on a toothed rack constituting the track beforementioned: the pinion is desirably of lesser diameter than the roller so that the travel of the material across the roller assembly will not produce too rapid an advance of the roller assembly.

Since the roller assembly is placed at a convenient position in relation to the edge of the material, the edge of the material will rideover the rollers and its line 'of flow will be continually corrected; the roller track or rack is preferably substantially arc-shaped in plan view.

A guide rail is preferably incorporated with the roller unit to swing with the unit and is positioned so that the material can be fed under it and thereby held in contact with the rollers.

If it is desired to control both edges of the .sheet material a duplicate roller unit is mounted in a corresponding position in relation to the opposite edge of the material.

One form of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a transverse section of a roller assembly on line X-X of FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a plan.

FIG. 3 is a view of the roller assembly looking from the edge of the material, that is to say, from the righthand side of FIGS. 1 and 2.

A roller unit comprises a base 10 on which a block 12 is mounted on a pivot 14 held in position by a nut 14 and the block forms a mounting for one end of a spindle l6 and for a platform 18. The block has connected to it one end of a spring 20, mounted in a ho using 20, the other end of the spring being anchored to the pivot 14. The spring thus tends to urge the block 12 and hence the spindle 16 to one end of its travel. On the spindle four rollers 22, 24, 26, 28 are mounted in a freely rotatable manner with their edges closely adjoining each other, the rollers being of the same diameter. The outer roller 28 has bearing against its end face a pinion 29 of lesser diameter, urged by a spring 29 against a friction pad 28 on the roller 28. The pinion rides on a toothed rack 30 supported on blocks 32 mounted on the base, the rack being of approximately arcuate shape in plan view as shown in FIG. 2. Stops 36, 38 in conjunction with a pin 39 limit the movements of the spindle 16 at each end of the rack 30. The frictional contact between the pinion 29 and the friction pad 28 on the roller 28 is sufficient to ensure travel of the roller assembly when the pinion rides along the rack, but light enough to allow slip when the pin 39 comes up to the respective stops 36, 38. To relieve the weight of the assembly at its free end from undue pressure on the rack 30 a tire 29 of mean pitch diameter on the boss of the pinion 29 is arranged to run on a smooth track 32 on the blocks 32. When the roller 26 is in its initial position under the influence of the spring 20, its angle will tend to urge the material outwards so that its edge rides on to the roller 28, which is rotated with the result that the pinion 29 will roll along the rack 30 and alter the angle of the spindle; the reverse tendency will then develop and the rollers will tend to urge the material inwards so that its edge will ride back on to the roller 26, when the spring 20 will be free to urge the spindle 16 back towards its original angle.

The material is deflected into contact with the roller assembly by means of a guide rail 40 mounted on the platform 18. In the case of flexible sheet material the guide rail may be replaced by nip rollers.

There is a slight amount of clearance between the adjacent ends of the rollers 22, 24, 26, 28 to ensure free running but this can allow unwanted matter (for instance loose threads of textile material) to enter and foulthe bearings. To prevent this. bobbins 42 are placed between the rollers and are freeenough to rotate loosely on the bosses of the rollers without hindering their movement. Thus any foreign matter entering the gaps between the rollers is collected on these bobbins and can be easily removed from time to time.

When the apparatus is used on machines where the material may sometimes be reversed, usually by the action of a switch, to flow in the opposite direction for a short distance (as in connection with inspection equipment), it would still be desirable for the edge of the material to be urged outwards. This can be accomplished by mounting the base member on a frame by means of a pivotal connection at 44. The effect of this is that whilst the material is flowing forwardly the whole roller assembly will swing in the direction of the flow about the pivot 44 to arrive at a position where the roller axis is at the desired initial angle to the flow. When the material flow is reversed the whole assembly swings again on the pivot 44 to a position where the rollers will again urge the edge of the material in an outward direction.

By arranging one of these units in a suitable position coinciding with one edge, or each edge if desired, of the travelling material, the edge, or both edges as the case may be, will be controlled and corrected so that the position of the edge or edges of the material will be maintained very close to the desired datum line or lines.

I claim:

1. Edge control apparatus for sheet material including a spindle, a pivotal mounting at one end of the spindle, at least two rollers freely rotatable on the spindle, means associated with the outer roller remote from the pivotal mounting whereby on the said outer roller being subjected to rotation the rollers and spindle are caused to swing about the pivotal mounting, the arrangement being such that in use in an initial position of the roller axis of rotation an edge of flowing sheet material moving in contact with the inner roller will be urged outwards but the roller axis of rotation will change when this outward movement of the sheet material begins to rotate the outer roller and the changed axis of rotation will thereby urge the material inwards, so that the edge of the material will always tend to find a datum line represented by the adjoining edges of the said two roli: Apparatus according to claim 1 having a track, said outer roller being caused to ride along the track on being subjected to rotation in order to change the axis of rotation of the rollers, means pre-loading the roller spindle to an angle which in use will be less than to the line of flow of the material, the arrangement being such that when the outer roller advances along the track the axis of the rollers changes and eventually goes beyond the 90 position relative to the line of flow.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 having a base, a pivot upstanding from the base, a block mounted on the pivot, the block forming a mounting for the spindle carrying the rollers, a spring connected to the pivot and to the block, the spring forming a pre-loading by which the roller spindle is urged to an initial position adapted to urge the edge of the flowing material outwards.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 having two stops, one at each end of the track, the stops serving to limit the movement of the roller spindle under the spring action and under the action of the roller travel.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 having a friction clutch device, one component of which is connected to the outer roller, a pinion connected to the other com ponent of the friction clutch, a toothed rack positioned so that when rotation of the outer roller effects rotation of the pinion the pinion will ride along the rack, and thereby effect the change of axis of rotation of the rollers.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 having a pinion of less diameter than the rollers so that the travel of the flowing sheet material across the outer roller will produce a less rapid advance of the rollers.

7. Apparatus according to claim 5 having a tire fitted to the pinion, a smooth track positioned so that the tire will run along it as the pinion travels along the toothed rack, whereby to relieve the weight of the assembly from undue pressure on the rack.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1 having a guide rail mounted over and around the rollers, positioned so that flowing sheet material can be fed under the guide rail and thereby held in contact with the rollers.

9. Apparatus according to claim 3 having a connection on the base whereby the base can be mounted on a pivot at the end remote from the pivotal mounting of the roller spindle, for use when the flow of the sheet material is reversed in direction, the arrangement being such that in use while the material is flowing forwardly the roller spindle and rollers will swing in the direction of the flow about the pivotal mounting at the said end remote from the pivotal mounting of the roller spindle, but when the material flow is reversed the assembly will swing back again about this remote pivotal mounting so that the edge of the material is again urged outwards.

tnmu 0397 

1. Edge control apparatus for sheet material including a spindle, a pivotal mounting at one end of the spindle, at least two rollers freely rotatable on the spindle, means associated with the outer roller remote from the pivotal mounting whereby on the said outer roller being subjected to rotation the rollers and spindle are caused to swing about the pivotal mounting, the arrangement being such that in use in an initial position of the roller axis of rotation an edge of flowing sheet material moving in contact with the inner roller will be urged outwards but the roller axis of rotation will change when this outward movement of the sheet material begins to rotate the outer roller and the changed axis of rotation will thereby urge the material inwards, so that the edge of the material will always tend to find a datum line represented by the adjoining edges of the said two rollers.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 having a track, said outer roller being caused to ride along the track on being subjected to rotation in order to change the axis of rotation of the rollers, means pre-loading the roller spindle to an angle which in use will be less than 90* to the line of flow of the material, the arrangement being such that when the outer roller advances along the track the axis of the rollers changes and eventually goes beyond the 90* position relatiVe to the line of flow.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 2 having a base, a pivot upstanding from the base, a block mounted on the pivot, the block forming a mounting for the spindle carrying the rollers, a spring connected to the pivot and to the block, the spring forming a pre-loading by which the roller spindle is urged to an initial position adapted to urge the edge of the flowing material outwards.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 3 having two stops, one at each end of the track, the stops serving to limit the movement of the roller spindle under the spring action and under the action of the roller travel.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 1 having a friction clutch device, one component of which is connected to the outer roller, a pinion connected to the other component of the friction clutch, a toothed rack positioned so that when rotation of the outer roller effects rotation of the pinion the pinion will ride along the rack, and thereby effect the change of axis of rotation of the rollers.
 6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 having a pinion of less diameter than the rollers so that the travel of the flowing sheet material across the outer roller will produce a less rapid advance of the rollers.
 7. Apparatus according to claim 5 having a tire fitted to the pinion, a smooth track positioned so that the tire will run along it as the pinion travels along the toothed rack, whereby to relieve the weight of the assembly from undue pressure on the rack.
 8. Apparatus according to claim 1 having a guide rail mounted over and around the rollers, positioned so that flowing sheet material can be fed under the guide rail and thereby held in contact with the rollers.
 9. Apparatus according to claim 3 having a connection on the base whereby the base can be mounted on a pivot at the end remote from the pivotal mounting of the roller spindle, for use when the flow of the sheet material is reversed in direction, the arrangement being such that in use while the material is flowing forwardly the roller spindle and rollers will swing in the direction of the flow about the pivotal mounting at the said end remote from the pivotal mounting of the roller spindle, but when the material flow is reversed the assembly will swing back again about this remote pivotal mounting so that the edge of the material is again urged outwards. 